Two of Asia’s most successful young art fairs will compete for exhibitors’ and visitors’ attention this November in Shanghai. Art021 is sticking with 10-13 November for its fourth edition (at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre), while the West Bund Art & Design fair (at the West Bund Art Center) has moved to 9-13 November from a September slot last year and its October launch in 2014.
Zhou Tiehai, the director of the West Bund fair, denies that it has been moved back so that it can compete more directly with Art021. “We reconsider the dates every year,” he says. “This year, having the fair at the same time as the Shanghai Biennale [11 November-12 March 2017] enables Shanghai to be an important destination in the art world.”
The West Bund fair has form when it comes to taking advantage of other cultural events. In September 2015, it deliberately overlapped with the Art and the City festival and the photography fair Photo Shanghai (now Photofairs Shanghai) to create the lively Shanghai Art Week. No plans are afoot to co-ordinate with Art021 this year, although Zhou says that projects with the biennial and the new Shanghai Project (5 September-13 November) are in the works.
“Of course, we plan to work closely with different art organisations, museums and institutions, including the Shanghai Biennale,” says Bao Yifeng, the founder of Art021.
Meanwhile, the photography fair is sticking to its September dates, “to serve better the local as well as international art-fair audience”, says Scott Gray, the chief executive of Photofairs.
Solid reputations Since they were founded, in 2013 and 2014 respectively, Art021 and West Bund have earned reputations for being professional fairs combining blue-chip international galleries with the strongest dealers in China and Asia. They have arrived with stronger foundations than their predecessor, SH Contemporary. Art021 is the creation of Shanghai collectors including Bao, who manages a PR company; West Bund is backed by the district government and is run by Zhou, a renowned Shanghai-based artist and former director of the city’s Minsheng Art Museum.
Bao says that one of the differences between the contemporary fairs is Art021’s exclusive focus on fine art, compared with West Bund’s design strand. “Even when held at the same time, I think they have their individual positions and features,” Zhou says. “I trust that anyone who has been to the two fairs can feel the difference between them. Moreover, West Bund’s exhibition space [in a converted aeroplane hangar] is distinct from other fairs.” Art021’s larger current venue allows for more diversity of galleries and styles, while West Bund retains the boutique feel that Art021 started out with.
Although the timing of the fairs is convenient for out-of-town collectors and other visitors to Shanghai, it forces smaller galleries with limited resources to choose between the two. Art021 was in the process of selecting galleries as we went to press. West Bund has announced 28 of its participants, including eight new additions. Among them are David Zwirner, Gladstone Gallery, Galerie Perrotin and Long March Space.
Struggling outside Shanghai Art fairs in other Chinese cities are proliferating, but lag behind Shanghai’s. Those in second-tier cities such as Hangzhou, Xiamen and Chengdu—and even in the capital, with the long-running Art Beijing and China International Gallery Exposition—struggle to attract top Chinese dealers and collectors, let alone international players. This year, the regional players Art Taipei and Art Stage Singapore are launching editions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung (24-26 June) and the Indonesian capital of Jakarta (5-7 August) respectively.
Shanghai’s fair organisers, however, are confident of the city’s allure. “Shanghai hopes to become an art centre on a par with New York,” Zhou says.